After two goals and a fight against Hamilton, did Darren Archibald go get himself a beer?
(Photo: Chris Jerina/AHL in Photos)

In a middling season, are the Chicago Wolves' fortunes about to swing back up? The Canucks' minor leaguers opened the year with four straight wins, but until last night's win over Hamilton, they hadn't won two successive games since that ferocious opening.

Powered by two well-taken goals by Darren Archibald - plus a fight from the big winger - the Wolves controlled the game nearly to the end. A pair of late goals from the Bulldogs made it close on the scoreboard (4-3), but it was an impressive performance by a Wolves squad that hasn't had many impressive performances this year.

More on Darren Archibald after the jump. (Oh, and yes, on the rest of the team, too.)

Contraction is a favourite concept of hockey writers around North America. For those who simply want to see higher-calibre hockey, it’s a beautiful dream – fewer teams means higher quality players at the highest level, something that can’t help but result in better hockey. Most recently, though, contraction has emerged as a preferred cudgel with which to beat the NHLPA.

This tweet from Sunaya Suparji of Yahoo! Canada was sent out just as Bob McKenzie was on a live-taping of Sportscentre discussing how Canucks prospect Frank Corrado was practically a sure bet to make the Canadian IIHF U-20 world championship team.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. McKenzie was just as shocked as everybody, but Corrado responded with class, and you'd expect from a media-trained Canadian hockey player:

The World Junior Hockey Championship is alway fantastic hockey, but this year’s tournament will be even more special. NHL caliber talent will litter the rosters, and since hockey fans have been shut out of enjoying the NHL thanks to the most ridiculous lockout in modern professional sports, they'll presumably be extra excited.

There are many reasons to get excited about the WJHC every year – players playing with passion that comes from playing for one’s country, and the intensity that comes from a short tournament setting, to name two. How about a few more? Nail Yakupov, Seth Jones, Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan Strome, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Aleksander Barkov – the list goes on, and on, and on.

Vancouver hockey fans haven't had any Canucks-related hockey to cheer about for seven and a half months, so it's understandable why the die-hards (myself included) are beginning to feel somewhat stir-crazy. To compound that issue, the possible remedies like, following a moribund Vancouver Giants team or a Chicago Wolves team that plays at a snails pace, are generally pretty unsatisfying.

That could all change later this evening however, because it appears that 19 year old two-way defenseman and Canucks prospect Frank Corrado, a fifth-round draft pick in 2011 whose stock has soared over the past sixteen months, might make Team Canada's World Junior Championship team. A Canucks prospect, playing on Team Canada's World Junior Team, to root for over the Christmas holidays? That's the hockey-itch equivalent of Goldbond powder.

So what are Corrado's chances of actually making the team? I figured this was a topic worth spilling some digital ink over, so read on past the jump!